A lot has happened to this city over the past half-century. The inhabitants lost their town hall. I hear people complain about it occasionally still. "They replaced it with that thing..", some have said, referring to the new government center straddling Route 195.
A friend of mine and I took up walking around the city in the evenings to get some excercise. We would talk about the architecture (Yes, there is some!) found as we were walking or about business, news, women. They were some great walks.
One of our walks brought us out over the highway next to the government center.
I was infatuated immediately by the fountain we found.
Now, I know under most circumstances, "found" isn't the right word - especially with something that's passed by thousands of people each day. However, there was an inscription on this fountain that most passed up or misunderstood.
"The records of 1882 deposited within will rejoice antiquarians."
I thought time capsule. I mentioned the possibility to my walking partner. He had little interest, saying "probably" and then focusing on the next direction to walk in. My thoughts stayed with the fountain.
What was inside? Why would antiquarians rejoice? And frankly, what the heck is an antiquarian anyway?
I drove by this fountain a few times during the hot days of the summer, and took a few pictures of it - not thinking much about how I was going to find out more about it.
Here are a few pictures – one original one I took at night, the others are from subsequent visits.
Click to open a larger picture in a new window:
There was something in the language itself that made me interested in the fountain. I did not drop the idea. I took many more pictures of the fountain, made phone calls, and eventually found and held the contents in my hands.
The following entries will explain all of the findings, some of the history behind it, and similar fountains of that era.
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